The invention relates to an enclosure, in particular, but not exclusively, to an enclosure suitable for housing connections of cables and connection equipment in a telecommunications or data communications network. The invention also relates to a flat pack from which an enclosure can be formed, to an enclosure installation and to a method of connecting cables in an enclosure.
An enclosure is commonly provided in a communications network to house a multiplicity of cable connections. In order to protect the connections and also to protect persons from connections, the connections are surrounded by an enclosure. It is important that the enclosure is substantially closed on all sides in order to provide the desired degree of protection. On the other hand, the cables have to be connected in the enclosure and, in order to make efficient use of space, a high density of connections is desirable; consequently it is desirable for the enclosure to provide as little obstruction as possible to access for the purpose of making the connections or access for serviceability. Those two requirements have proved difficult to reconcile.
It is an object of the invention to provide an enclosure which, after connections have been made, can provide full protection to those connections, but which also is able to cause very little obstruction to access when connections are being made.
According to the invention there is provided an enclosure comprising a skeleton frame structure and a plurality of panels, wherein the frame structure includes upper and lower forwardly projecting frame portions, of which at least the upper frame portion is arranged as a cantilever being supported at its rear end and extending forwardly to the front of the enclosure, and at least some of the plurality of panels are at least partly releasable from the skeleton frame structure.
With the enclosure of the invention, it is possible to make the cable connections when only the skeleton frame structure is in place. Thereafter the panels can be attached to form a fully protected enclosure. Since at least the upper frame portion is arranged as a cantilever there may be no frame structure below the upper frame portion except at the back of the enclosure so that very open access to the enclosure is possible from all directions for making the cable connections.
Preferably the lower frame portion is also arranged as a cantilever being supported at its rear end and extending forwardly to the front of the enclosure. Such an arrangement improves accessibility when making cable connections.
Usually the enclosure of the invention will be arranged to be able to be mounted on an upright wall. It is also possible, however, for the enclosure to be free standing; in that case the lower frame portion although arranged in the manner of a cantilever may not actually act in that way because it may be supported over all of its underside.
Preferably the upper and lower forwardly projecting frame portions comprise respective upper and lower frame members. It is advantageous to make the upper and lower frame portions from separate members to reduce the space occupied by the dismantled frame. Also the same upper and lower frame portions can then be used for enclosures of different heights.
Preferably each of the upper and lower forwardly projecting frame portions includes a front, substantially horizontal portion and a pair of side, substantially horizontal portions extending rearwardly from opposite ends of the front portion to the rear of the enclosure. With such an arrangement the frame portions encroach very little on the interior space of the enclosure and pose very little obstruction to horizontal movement of any body through the enclosure.
Preferably each of the upper and lower forwardly projecting frame portions includes rear, substantially vertical portions, extending vertically from the rear ends of the side portions. Preferably the rear ends of the frame portions at one side of the enclosure are secured to a first, common, vertically extending member and the rear ends of the frame portions at the other side of the enclosure are secured to a second, common, vertically extending member. Preferably the frame portions are received in channels formed in the vertically extending members. With such an arrangement a strong and rigid connection can be made between the frame portions, the vertically extending members thereby producing a strong and rigid frame. Furthermore the height of the frame can be altered simply by altering the length of the vertically extending members. The vertically extending members may be formed of sheet metal pressed into the desired shape to form the channels.
Preferably the upper and lower forwardly projecting frame portions are formed of one or more tubular members. Tubular members are readily manufactured and can readily provide a strong and rigid structure.
Enclosures usually include a top panel, bottom panel, and a pair of side panels, and in many cases also a front panel.
Preferably, the enclosure of the invention includes a top panel which is detachably mounted over the upper frame portion; similarly, the enclosure preferably includes a bottom panel which is detachably mounted under the lower frame portion. The top and bottom panels are preferably secured to the upper and lower frame portions, respectively. The top and/or bottom panel may be provided with an openable part to allow cables to enter the enclosure.
Preferably the enclosure includes a front panel. pivotably mounted for pivoting about a vertical axis at a side of the enclosure.
Preferably the enclosure includes at least one side panel that is securable in a fixed position over a side of the enclosure but is partly releasable to provide a panel pivotable about a vertical axis at the rear of the enclosure. By pivoting the side panel outwardly about a vertical axis at the rear of the enclosure the side of the enclosure becomes highly accessible especially at the front. The at least one side panel is preferably fully detachable. With the side panel fully detached even more open access is provided. Preferably both of a pair of opposite side panels of the enclosure are as defined above.
The front panel and/or the side panels are preferably mounted on the top and bottom panels outside the skeleton frame structure. with the preferred disposition of the upper and lower frame portions the connections between the top and bottom panels and the other panels they mount are close to the frame portion and therefore the top and bottom panels do not themselves require great strength in order to provide a satisfactory mounting of the other panels.
For some applications it is preferable that the enclosure further includes a swing frame mounted on the skeleton frame for pivoting movement about a substantially vertical axis disposed at a side of the enclosure. Such a moving frame can be accommodated entirely within the rest of the enclosure after connections have been made but can be swung out of the enclosure through an angle which may be at least 180xc2x0 to allow excellent access to the swing frame and to any region of the enclosure behind the swing frame.
Preferably the substantially vertical axis of pivoting of the swing frame is disposed approximately midway between the front and the back of the enclosure. In such a case, swinging the swing frame through 180xc2x0 can usually be accommodated and in the position where the swing frame is swung out through 180xc2x0 it will not project forwardly any further from the vertical plane containing the rear of the skeleton frame, than the remaining part of the enclosure; that is advantageous, for example, if work has to be carried out on the enclosure when it is mounted in a narrow corridor.
The swing frame preferably comprises a first side portion extending forwardly from the substantially vertical axis of pivoting, a second front portion adjacent to the front of the enclosure and, preferably, also a third side portion extending rearwardly from the front portion on the opposite side of the enclosure to the substantially vertical axis of pivoting, the locations as viewed in plan of the frame portions referred to being ones that are adopted when the swing frame is in its stored position within the remainder of the enclosure.
Preferably the bottom of the swing frame is above the lower frame portion and the top of the swing frame is below the upper frame portion. The swing frame preferably includes an upper frame portion underlying the upper frame portion of the skeleton frame and a lower frame portion overlying the lower frame portion of the skeleton frame. The swing frame is preferably formed of one or more tubular members. In such a case the presence of the swing frame can be arranged to have very little effect on the space available for connections within the enclosure and on the ease of accessibility to all regions of the enclosure. Furthermore, in the case where the swing frame has a third side portion extending rearwardly from the front portion of the frame on the opposite side of the enclosure to the substantially vertical axis of pivoting of the swing frame, the third side portion may extend rearwardly of the axis of pivoting adjacent to the side of the enclosure. The third side portion can still be able to be swung out even though it has to pass through the side of the remainder of the enclosure because the side panel can be at least partly releasable to allow such movement.
The enclosure may be referred to as a cabinet and may be used for any suitable purpose but is especially designed for use in a telecommunications or data communications network. The enclosure may therefore be referred to as an electrical equipment cabinet. In an enclosure for use in a telecommunications or data communications network it is conventional to provide vertically extending mounting angles suitable for mounting cable equipment, for example, cable blocks or the like to which ends of cables are connected and suitable for mounting shelves on which telecommunications or data communications equipment, for example, modems, can be placed. The enclosure of the invention may accordingly further include a pair of vertically extending mounting angles fixed to the upper and lower frame portions. The mounting angles may be suitable for mounting cable blocks or the like. The mounting angles may be designed according to any required standard such as a telecommunications standard; for example they may be IEC 297-1 mounting angles or ETSI 300-119 Part 3 mounting angles or mounting angles according to any other telecommunications standard.
Although the form of frame structure defined above is regarded as highly desirable, it is within the scope of the invention to adopt somewhat different frame structures. Accordingly, the invention also provides an enclosure comprising a skeleton frame structure and a plurality of panels at least some of which are at least partly detachable from the frame structure. Away from its rear, the enclosure is preferably free of any frame structure extending a substantial distance vertically; if the enclosure is not entirely free of such a vertically extending frame structure then that frame structure is preferably confined to one side so that in the middle and on the other side of the frame structure the enclosure is unobstructed by such vertically extending members. Such an arrangement is especially advantageous in allowing the swing frame referred to above to be used to its maximum advantage. The enclosure may include any of the features referred to in the paragraphs above.
An advantageous feature of the enclosure of the present invention is that it can be supplied as a kit comprising a plurality of separate members which can be packed substantially flat. Accordingly the invention further provides a flat pack including frame members and panels for assembling on site into an enclosure as defined above.
The invention further provides an enclosure installation including an enclosure as defined above and a multiplicity of cables entering the enclosure in the region of the rear thereof. The installation may further include cable connecting equipment fixed to the frame structure.
The invention further provides a telecommunications or data communications network including an enclosure installation as defined above.
The invention still further provides a method of connecting cables in an enclosure, the method including the following steps:
locating a skeleton frame structure of the enclosure in its required position,
connecting ends of cables within the enclosure, and
securing side and front panels to the frame structure in a closed condition to form, together with top and bottom panels that are fitted during the method, an enclosure in which cables are connected.
The frame structure may be located before the cables are connected, but it is also possible to make the cable connections first and then locate the enclosure over the connections.
Since the cables are connected before the side and front panels are secured in a closed condition, and can also be connected before the top and bottom panels are fitted, the process of connecting the cables can be virtually unhindered by the enclosure. Preferably the top and bottom panels are fitted before the side and front panels and serve to mount the side and front panels. The enclosure may be supplied as a flat pack and the skeleton frame assembled from parts of the flat pack. The enclosure may be in any of the forms defined above.